Anthony Wayne Gray was booked into Jefferson County Jail in Beaumont, Texas, on April 13, 2021. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office filed a report with the state about the custodial death of Gray. The 58-year-old was transferred to the Baptist Hospital on College Street in Beaumont and died after suffering severe medical distress and being moved to Intensive Care on May 8, 2021.

Texas jails are required to provide reasonable medical care to every prisoner. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) dictates the guidelines by which jails must operate. Those guidelines include a provision for health services. Rules for health services are detailed under the following categories and further below more information is provided:

• Health Services
• A Health Services Plan
• Health Instructions
• Health Records
• Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan
• Restraints
• Tuberculosis Screening Plan
• Memorandum of Understanding

Texas Administrative Code, Title 37, Part 9, Chapter 273

RULE §273.1 — Health Services

Medical, dental, and mental health services must be provided by the operator of each jail in keeping with that facility’s approved health services plan. The services of a hospital, licensed physician, allied health personnel, and similar services may be included, though the plan is not limited to these options.

RULE §273.2 — Health Services Plan

Many details about what must be included in a health services plan are provided in this particular rule in the Texas Administrative Code. Specifics will be included in the next segment of this ongoing series.

This and every post on this website is intended to help county jail prisoners now or previously incarcerated in a Texas jail. No post or page on this site intends to infer misdeeds on the part of people or entities.

–Guest Contributor